A man convicted of killing a television executive after some key evidence in the case was found in a Ventura County storage locker has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
John Creech was convicted of the 2012 slaying of Gavin Smith. The 20th Century Fox executive was last seen alive in Agoura Hills. In 2013, Smith’s car was found in a Simi Valley storage locker linked to Creech. But, it wasn’t until 2014 that Smith’s body was discovered by a hiker in the desert near Palmdale.
Prosecutors sought a first degree murder conviction, saying Creech killed Smith because the TV executive was having an affair with his wife. A jury convicted Creech of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. A judge gave him the maximum sentence allowable for the conviction.
